"Gorkhaland" demand needs discussion, can’t be resolved overnight: BJP Darjeeling President

RAJESH SHARMA, EOI, JAIGAON, 29 JULY 2023 : After facing defeat in the recently concluded panchayat elections in the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung has given an ultimatum to the BJP to clarify its stand on the issue of a separate 'Gorkhaland' state. 

While giving this, he has indicated to distance himself from the saffron camp. Gurung has said that the BJP will have to clearly state its stand on the separate state of Gorkhaland. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief said on the Gorkha Martyrs’ Day on July 27 that he would wait till August15 to see if the Prime Minister conveyed any specific message on the Gorkhaland issue and if nothing happened, the Gorkha leaders of Darjeeling would be forced to go their separate ways.

Gurung also said that on August 4, the GJM would hold a rally at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar in support of its demand for a separate state. Gurung said: " This movement will be for our Gorkha identity. We need a government in New Delhi that understands the sentiments of Gorkhas."

Political observers see this statement as a warning to the BJP, as the saffron camp managed to get its candidate elected in Darjeeling in 2009, 2014 and 2019 only with the support of the GJM. However, the BJP's alliance with eight local Pahari parties, including the GJM, suffered a major setback in the recently concluded panchayat elections, when the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, backed by the Trinamool Congress and founded by Anit Thapa, emerged victorious in the majority of seats.

However, BJP president of Darjeeling district Kalyan Dewan has termed the statement of Bimal Gurung as immature. 

He said that the issue of a separate state had many complexities and could not be resolved in minutes. 

“There needs to be a lot of discussion on this. There is no point in opening a front against the Central government on this issue,” he said. Recently, the BJP also faced criticism from its own party MLA from Kurseong, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, who claimed that his party and its allies had lost the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in the recently concluded panchayat elections in the state. 

The poor results of the Allies were due to interference by “outsiders” in the poll scene.